It is common practice for businesses to mail material, such as advertising material and literature, to current and prospective customers in the form of a mail package, such as a flat. Often times, the material will include product samples and/or promotional items such as, for example, pens, key tags, calendars, and other such items along with any literature. Historically in the United States, the mailing standard for these types of packages has been a non-automated flat postage rate, for example, $0.345 per piece. However, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has created a new category called Not Flat-machinable (NFM) which basically states that a mail piece that is too rigid, too thick, and/or non-uniform, based on flexibility and uniformity standards, cannot be processed as a flat and will incur significantly higher postage rates. See 39 C.F.R. § 111.1, and Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual at chapter 300 (Commercial Flats), § 301 (Physical Standards) (last updated Aug. 14, 2008) (previously set forth in § 101 (Physical Standards)), all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The higher postage rates can be as much as two or three times or more than the non-automated flat rate. The added cost for mailing NFM packages poses a significant cost burden to the mailing of product samples and promotional items.
Often times, a mail package as described above, is categorized within the USPS as a “flat.” A flat, as commonly known in the postal processing industry, is a large envelope, newsletter, or magazine. To be designated a “flat” in the USPS, a mail piece must have at least one dimension that is greater than six and one-eighth inches high, eleven and one-half inches long, or one-quarter inch thick, with maximum dimensions of twelve inches high, fifteen inches long, and three-quarters inches thick, wherein the length is the dimension parallel to the address as read, and the height is the dimension perpendicular to the length. The maximum weight can range from about thirteen ounces to about fifteen pounds depending on the mail class used, i.e. first-class mail (thirteen ounces), standard mail (less than sixteen ounces), and bound printed matter (fifteen pounds). The physical standards for qualification as a flat are attached as Appendix A, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
The mailing standards are to encourage mail preparation that is compatible with improved processing capabilities, such as increased automation of postal processing. Under the NFM category, standard mail pieces with parcel-like characteristics, including rigid pieces, are presorted, entered, and processed as parcels, resulting in significantly higher postage costs.
In particular to flats, the mail standards require that flats must be rectangular, flexible, and uniformly thick within a specified variance to accommodate automated processing equipment. Such requirements are implemented by the above-referenced standards for flexibility and uniformity. As previously mentioned, an excerpt from the standards are included in Appendix A and can also be found at http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/301.htm, which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. For example, to pass the flexibility test, the mail package is placed halfway off the edge of a flat surface such that the length is parallel to the edge of a flat surface. Using constant, steady pressure, the mail package is bent at a point one inch from the outer edge, in the center of its length. The mail package is flexible, according to the standards, if it can bend at least one inch vertically without being damaged. If the mail package does not contain a rigid insert, no further testing is required. If the mail package does contain a rigid insert, then the mail package is placed with its length perpendicular to the edge of the flat surface so that the mail package extends five inches off the surface if it is ten inches or longer, or one-half of its length if it is less than ten inches long. Using constant steady pressure, the mail package is bent at a point one inch from the outer edge, in the center of the piece's width. The mail package is then turned around and the test is repeated. The mail package is flexible, according to the standards, if both ends can bend at least one inch vertically without being damaged if it is less than ten inches long, and at least two inches vertically without being damaged if it is ten inches or longer.
Flat-size mail packages must also meet a standard of uniformity to be processed at the lower rate. The mail packages must be uniformly thick so that any bumps, protrusions, or other irregularities do not cause more than one-fourth of an inch variance in thickness. In determining variance in thickness, the outside edges of a mail package (one inch from each edge) is excluded when the contents of the mail package do not extend into those edges. Also, the selvage of any polywrap covering is excluded from the determination. Mail packages containing non-paper contents must secure the non-paper contents to prevent shifting of more than two inches within the mail package if shifting would cause the package to be non-uniform in thickness or would result in the contents bursting out of the mail package.
In addition to meeting the above standards, the mail package must be capable of being readily processed by automated equipment.
Internationally, a flexible, uniform mail package is also desirable to reduce postage rates, minimize shifting of articles within the mail package, and/or to allow the mail package to be readily processed using automated equipment.
There remains a need for a mail piece or package that is capable of accommodating various articles, such as promotional items, pens, key tags, and the like, while meeting the USPS's flexibility and uniformity standards for automated postal processing, such that the mail package can be readily processed by automated equipment. Such a mail package could also be used internationally.